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https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2021-06-24/uks-royal-air-force-orders-more-chinook-helicopters


Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) has placed an order worth over $580 million for Boeing to deliver 14 Chinook helicopters, exercising an option on an existing contract. The contracting agency for the Foreign Military Sales deal is U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).


To be delivered by July 2026, the new Chinooks will be to the latest Block II standard, making the UK the first overseas customer for the variant. Block II builds on the existing CH-47F aircraft with a series of improvements that enhance range, load-carrying ability, and electrical capacity for onboard equipment. The most notable difference is the fitment of the Advanced Chinook Rotor Blade (ACRB), which features a symmetric airfoil and advanced tip geometry to increase lifting ability. The Honeywell T55-715 engines provide around 20 percent more power.


Internal changes in the fuel sponsons either side of the fuselage increase capacity by reducing the number of cells from three to one, while the nose is more pointed to provide additional volume for sensor and other systems. A new drive system is installed, and an active parallel actuator system is fitted to enhance the Digital Advanced Flight Control System (DAFCS) by ensuring a precise division of torque between the two rotors.


“These Chinooks are the future of heavylift, built on an existing foundation of advanced capability and life cycle affordability,” said Andy Builta, Boeing vice president and H-47 program manager. “This contract for Block II aircraft sets the stage for the next 60 years of Chinook excellence on the battlefield.”


Boeing delivered the first Block II, an MH-47G optimized for special forces support, to USSOCOM in September 2020. Later this year, on September 21, the company will celebrate the CH-47’s first flight. The RAF was the first export customer for the CH-47, and has recently marked the 40th anniversary of the delivery of its first Chinook. The fleet has been heavily utilized and seen considerable action from its combat debut in the Falklands in 1982, through the 1991 Gulf War, to intense operations in Afghanistan. In 2018 a detachment also began operating in Mali. Some of the first aircraft to be received are still in service, albeit having undergone a series of upgrades and improvements, and in the UK’s latest defense and security review published in March the Ministry of Defence announced that nine of them would be retired.


The latest RAF order for the CH-47F Block II is likely to be delivered for special operations in a configuration close to that of USSOCOM’s MH-47G. In the meantime, the remainder of the fleet is being brought up to a common Chinook HC.Mk 6A standard, with the DAFCS replacing the original analog flight control system. The Mk 6A conversion program is due to be completed this year.


영국 왕립 공군은 기존 계약의 옵션을 행사하면서 보잉에 5억 8천만 달러 어치의 치누크 헬기 14대를 주문했다. 이 계약은 FMS 방식으로 진행되며 계약을 체결한 곳은 미 특수작전사령부이다.


2026년 7월까지 인도될 새로운 치누크 블록2는 해외 도입국가로써는 영국이 첫 고객이 된다. 블록 2는 기존 CH-47F 더 많은 종류의 탑재장비,더 높은적재능력,발전용량 등의 개선사항이 적용되었다. 가장 눈에 띄는 차이점은 발전형 치누크 로터 블레이드의 장착으로 대칭익과 발전된 팁 구조 덕에 더 향상된 리프팅 능력을 보여주며 허니웰의 T55-715엔진은 기존 보다 20% 더 강한 출력을 제공한다.


동체 양쪽의 연료탑재 돌출부는 내부의 셀 숫자를 3개에서 1개로 줄이고 용량을 증가시켰다. 반면 기수는 센서 및 기타 시스템에 추가적인 공간을 제공하기 위해서 더 뾰족하다. 새 구동 시스템과 능동 병렬식 구동부 시스템이 장착 덕분에 두 로터 간 정확한 토크 분배를 보장해 디지털 비행 제어 시스템의 성능을 향상시킨다.


영국 왕립 공군이 주문한 CH-47F 블록는 미 특수장전사령부의 MH-47G와 유사한 사양으로 특수작전을 위해 사용될 가능성이 높다. 그동안 나머지 기존 보유 기체들은 아날로그 비행제어 시스템을 디지털 비행제어 시스템으로 교체하고 치누크 HC.Mk 6A 사양으로 업그레이드할 것이다. 이 프로그램은 올해 안에 완료될 예정이다.


*MH-47G 블록2가 궁금하다면 참고 - https://gall.dcinside.com/mgallery/board/view/?id=milipoli&no=2135